Underneath The Mistletoe
by Underneaththeice
Summary: It's Christmas Eve and there's a party in full swing in the Gryffindor common room. Takes place after They'll See. HHr, DG, RLav. Not HBP compliant!


**Underneath the Mistletoe**

Author: Underneaththeice  
Rating: T (for snogging)  
Pairing: H/Hr, D/G, R/Lav, Nell/Arlith  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any of the characters found in the Harry Potter books, or the tradition of hanging up mistletoe. Only Nell and Arlith belong to me.

Author's Note: _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, once again. The Great Hall was decorated with countless pine trees and glittering ornaments, and the ceiling had been bewitched to snow powdery white flakes that disintegrated upon touching the floor or a person. This year, the theme seemed to be decorating the trees in the colors of the four Houses at Hogwarts- Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

As was the usual procedure, most students at Hogwart's had gone home for the Christmas holidays, but some stayed, no matter that classes would not be in session for two weeks. Most notable of the children who stayed on were a good number of the Gryffindors, including the three students whom had been called 'The Dream Team' on more than one occasion, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. Harry Potter, also known as The Boy Who Lived, always stayed at Hogwart's over the Christmas break- his 'family,' consisting of three Muggles known as the Dursleys, were horrid. Hermione, his best friend, had chosen to stay because her Muggle parents were vacationing in Bermuda for the holidays. Ron had, of course, decided to stay with his friends over the holidays. The three were in their sixth year at Hogwart's, making them about sixteen years old, and in the throes of adolescent hormones and troubles.

And so, that was how it came to pass on that Christmas Eve, ten Gryffindors, one Ravenclaw and one Slytherin were gathered in the Gryffindor common room for an impromptu Christmas party. Several of the Gryffindors were younger than the trio- there were two first years Harry couldn't recall the names of, and a fifth year he vaguely remembered as being named Arlith Anria. The Ravenclaw in question was, of course, Arlith's girlfriend, Nell Medeiros. Lavender Brown and Neville Longbottom had also chosen to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays, as well as a seventh year by name of Cormac McLaggen. Draco Malfoy, surprisingly enough, was also in attendance at the party. He was dancing with his girlfriend, Ginny, and seemed to be trying to avoid being speared by Ron's eyes- he was still uneasy about his little sister dating a Slytherin.

The famous Harry Potter was not dancing. Instead, he was standing near the fireplace, sipping from a mug full of warmed butterbeer. His raven hair, always messy, was falling into his eyes, but at least those bangs hid the lightning shaped scar from plain sight- his friends were used to it, but Harry found it a bother to be stared at, as he so often was. And so Harry stood by the fireplace, all alone, while a pair of brown eyes watched him from across the room.

Hermione could have done without the party; she didn't like a lot of noise, even if she did like having friends around her. But the dance music, conjured out of nowhere, was terribly loud, and she was trying to watch her best friend, Harry, without being too obvious. _Get a grip, Hermione, the guy isn't in love with you. He's fonder of girls like Cho Chang and Parvati, not you. Girls who dress nicely and wear makeup, not khakis and a plain face._ Despite the kiss that the pair had shared no more than a month ago, before the weather had turned too cold for walks around the lake, Hermione and Harry were not dating. They had not even talked about the kiss they'd shared, but had let the matter drop.

Yet what Hermione thought of Harry's taste in girls could not be further from the truth. In fact, Harry Potter, with his brilliant green eyes hidden behind a somewhat newer pair of spectacles, was thinking of a pair of brown eyes and a warm smile. _She obviously doesn't like you as any more than a friend… _But then that soft, hesitant voice inside of him whispered, _that kiss by the lake didn't seem like something Hermione would give to _just_ a friend._

Ron, best friend to both of the seemingly love-struck teenagers, was finishing up a game of Wizard Chess with Neville, a fellow sixth year wizard who usually lost his toad and rarely remembered how to work a potion when in the presence of the formidable Potions professor, Snape. "Checkmate!" Ron crowed as his queen moved forward to defeat Neville's king. As Neville frowned and then good-naturedly commended him on a good game, Ron looked up to notice his best friend Harry Potter standing by the fireplace, beneath the mistletoe that one of the third years had pinned up a few days before. With a grin he saw his other best friend, Hermione, sitting alone with what looked distinctly like a book. Given what he had noticed about their behavior for the last month, those two sights easily made up his mind.

Meanwhile, Arlith Anria, half of the couple that those closest to them had termed NellandArlith, was trying to dissuade his better half from interfering on behalf of Harry or Hermione. Perfectly persuasive arguments were easily pushed aside by the redhead, whose kohl-lined eyes were paying more attention to Harry and Hermione, than to her beau.

"Arlith," Nell finally murmured, pushing a bit of fire-engine red hair out of her face, "this is the perfect opportunity. You can see exactly what I see, I know you can. They just need a little push!" A pale hand gestured, causing her black velvet sleeve to hit Ron as he passed the pair.

"Already on it," Ron muttered, looking askance at the Ravenclaw. "And isn't black a little morbid for Christmas time?" A smile and a gentle snicker was the only response that Nell chose to grace him with, and Ron rolled his eyes good-naturedly before continuing on his way toward a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor, giving a snicker of his own when he saw that Arlith was silencing the girl in what was probably the best way possible.

Hermione glanced up as a rather tall figure blocked the light that had been allowing her to read, and smiled upon seeing that it was Ron. "Hey there Ron. Enjoying the party?" Those brown eyes again darted to Harry, and it made her heart flutter just a little to see him looking so delicious, lit from the side by the fire and dressed in black pants and the green sweater Mrs. Weasley had knitted for him last Christmas.

Ron grinned knowingly as he saw Hermione's eyes dart from him to Harry, and then toned down his smile when Hermione looked up at him. "It's pretty good. But our friend Harry over there looks a mite lonely, and I've got to claim myself a dance with Lavender before Cormac over there tries to steal her away." He winked at Hermione to show that he was joking; Ron and Lavender had been dating since the middle of fifth year, and they were both thoroughly besotted with one another. But then his look turned calculating. "Of course, I could always have you steal him away...it would make that certain someone in your life awfully jealous!"

Hermione gave an exaggerated gasp at Ron's teasing, before standing quickly. "I think I'll go keep Harry company. See you later, then?" When Ron smiled easily and nodded, Hermione cut across the 'dance floor' and over to the fireplace, standing by Harry, unknowingly moving so that she was also beneath the mistletoe. She missed the big grin that appeared on Ron's face, as well as the nearly identical grins appearing on the faces of two other students in the room.

Harry looked up and smiled shyly at his best friend as she stood before him, then offered her a sip from his mug of butterbeer. "What brings you over to the fireplace, Mione?" he asked, taking back the mug after she had taken a sip or two. "Not that I…er…mind your company." Harry smiled, cursing his tongue for fumbling.

But Hermione only gave a soft smile as she handed him back the mug, her slender body leaning against the fireplace. "Well, a little bird gave me a tip that you might be feeling a little lonely, over here in your spot by the fire. After all, it is a party. You're supposed to be having fun!"

Harry grinned, reaching forward to tuck a stray bit of hair behind Hermione's ear. "And what were you doing over there, then? Neither of us are exactly being the life of the party." He tried to ignore the way that her cheeks turned pink when his fingertips accidentally brushed one of them, but he was certain that his cheeks were turning a matching colour. "Reading again?"

Around them the party was in full swing- Ron was dancing with Lavender, while Draco led Ginny through a rather sedate waltz. Perhaps he was still unnerved by the fact that Ron was so close by. Before Hermione could answer Harry's question, she was nearly run over by Nell, who was trying to keep up with Arlith as they danced.

"You're standing under the mistletoe," the redhead noted, before giving a breathless laugh as Arlith whirled her away from the fireplace and back toward the center of the common room. Hermione could feel her cheeks burning as she looked up at the plant above her head, and she knew that Harry was doing the same. They stood stock still for a moment, before Harry gave a muttered, "Bloody hell," and pulled Hermione close to him.

She fell against his chest, looking up at Harry as if he'd lost his mind. "Harry, wha—" she began, before her friend's lips found hers. Hermione's eyes fluttered shut as their mouths met once, twice, and then clung together in a kiss that was far more than a friendly peck on the mouth. She felt as if her knees were weakening, but even as they buckled, Harry was there to keep her standing, to keep her close to him. She felt as if she was drowning- and Hermione couldn't find it in herself to care.

"Mione," Harry finally whispered, when their lips parted what seemed like an age later. He opened his mouth to speak again, but whatever he was going to say was lost when Hermione kissed _him_. All thought went out of his mind, and so instead of thinking, he simply looped one arm around his friend's waist, used the other to cup her cheek, and lost himself. Idly, he wondered why he hadn't kissed Hermione years ago.

Instinctively he knew that she loved him- that she'd loved him for a long time, maybe since he and Ron had saved her from a troll in their first year. She wouldn't be kissing him as if it were as natural to her as breathing, as if it were as natural to him as breathing, if she didn't love him. Acknowledging that meant that Harry had to acknowledge something else- that he loved her.

Harry pulled his mouth away from Hermione's, but he kept his arm around her, allowing the other to grip her forearm- as if he needed to hold onto her or he, too, would be drowning. "Mione," he repeated, as he gradually became aware of the fact that they were in the common room, and that around them music and conversation flowed easily. Neville Longbottom was crowing that he'd won a game of Wizard's chess, ignoring Ron's exclamations that he'd been distracted by Lavender. Ginny was yelling at Draco because he'd been teasing her about something.

"Harry," Hermione murmured, dragging his attention back to her. "I think we need to have a talk." She ignored his grimace, but as she opened her mouth to speak, Harry kissed her again, effectively delaying their discussion, and telling her exactly what she needed to know.


End file.
